Matteson Ellis commented on Embraer's discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the resolution of alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations. According to Ellis, the fact that Embraer is now in settlement talks means that its internal investigation is probably far enough along that the company is able to identify the extent of any FCPA-related wrongdoing and the nature of any controls and record-keeping failures. "Investigations by their very nature can be expensive and disruptive, so the company is probably ready to put this matter behind it," he said.

Negotiations with U.S. authorities can take months to complete, despite the full cooperation of the company. "Depending on the complexity of wrongdoing and the gap between the company's offer and government's fine and penalty expectations, there can be much back and forth. On the other hand, if both parties have the will to reach a conclusion quickly, swift resolutions are possible," Ellis said. Cooperation between U.S. authorities and their Brazilian counterparts in multinational corruption investigations has been steadily increasing. "We know that Brazilian authorities requested information from US authorities in 2013, and it is likely that cooperation has continued," he said.